Springfield Business Journal_2019-03-18

SPRINGFIELD BUSINESS JOURNAL · 3 MARCH 18-24, 2019 NEWS IN THIS ISSUE The crew at Arctic Food Equipment keeps restaurants stocked and cooking up their signatu re dishes. PAGE 6 The partners of Synergy Executive open a men’s substance abuse treatment center in Ozark. PAGE 5 Vol. 39 No. 35 Web Producer Geoff Pickle says a new company will put press ure on Uber and Lyft. OPINION PAGE 53 I call it the ‘reverse Brad Pitt’ – moved from LA to Springfield to get on TV.” —“The Mystery Hour” creator Jeff Houghton, on his professional path Page 41 QUOTE OF THE WEEK by Mike Cullinan · mcullinan@sbj.net Burrell Behavioral Health has organized a trio of community partnerships in the past four months. The Springfield-based company, which serves 17 counties in Missouri, is making a concerted effort to expand its reach for mental health ser- vices, said C.J. Da- vis, president and CEO. “Rather than sit back and wait for people to walk through our doors, how can we cre- ate access points, where people can find their way to Burrell – either naturally or, in some cases, easi- er?” he said of the growth strategy. To help meet that need, Burrell is now partnering with Greene County Family Jus- tice Center, Springfield Public Schools and Mercy Springfield Communities. Those partnerships are in addition to a longstand- ing relationship with CoxHealth, for which Burrell provides mental and behavioral health services, such as counseling and substance abuse treatment. Joining forces Davis said community mental health centers, like Burrell, can’t expect people to travel to them for help. But he recognizes they may have more trust or comfort in vis- iting a local hospital or school system. He said Burrell initiated the conversations to expand its focus to health care, school sys- tems and legal environments where pro- spective clients already are interacting. “If we really want to reach the folks that are out there suffering in silence, we need to go out to those locations,” he said. At the Greene County Family Justice Center, two Burrell staffers are on-site Monday through Friday to provide imme- diate counseling or mental health services that previously would have required a re- ferral to another site, said Jamie Willis, jus- tice center project coordinator. “So far, we’ve had a great response,” she said, adding services started March 4. “We’re keeping them busy.” As of March 11, the justice center had served 516 adults and 102 children since opening in October 2018, Willis said, adding discussions to involve Burrell in providing services started around that same month. It just took time to determine where to locate additional employees in the center’s lim- ited 3,000-square-foot space. “We’re all elbow to elbow in here, but pro- viding these services was the most important thing,” she said, adding Burrell is providing in-kind service in exchange for office space. Discussions also were ongoing for sev- eral months with Mercy personnel, said WES HAMILTON Burrell Behavioral Health CEO C.J. Davis says the pending merger with Youth Bridge will provide access to 750,000 people in Arkansas. Partnering Up Burrell Behavioral Health grows by building community partnerships See PARTNERS on page 54 Jamie Willis: Burrell staff on-site eliminates the need for off- site referrals.